Comments on: Give Pluto your stamp of approval

By: Matt B.

Matt B. — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:25:04 +0000

@42. Laurel Kornfeld: It’s not a vote on facts, it’s a vote on names. Getting everyone to call the same thing by the same name is necessary for effective communication. Think of when anti-science nuts call evilution “just a theory”. They think theory means the same as conjecture, when it actually means (to scientists at least) a well developed model that is used as the basis for new hypotheses. That disagreement on the meaning of “theory” leads to miscommunication.

By: Judy Dye

Judy Dye — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:47:49 +0000

Yes, Pluto should have it’s own stamp.

By: Laurel Kornfeld

Laurel Kornfeld — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:06:37 +0000

“since I’ve taught college astronomy 30 years, I probably am entitled to an opinion, although only the IAU will be the authority of course…”

Jeff, not only is this not true; it is also not very scientific. Science is not “decreed” by a self-appointed “authority”; it is determined by facts and data. The IAU can vote that the sky is green, but that wouldn’t make it any less blue. I find it disturbing that so many would so easily cede “authority” to others even when they themselves have built careers studying astronomy. No one voted on the truth of relativity, on gravity, or on whether the universe has one or many galaxies. Similarly, no one should vote and have the right to issue declarations for all humanity on what constitutes a planet.

Pluto is both a planet and a KBO. Why is it a problem for it to be dually classed? The first tells us what it is; the second tells us where it is. Pluto is geologically differentiated into core, mantle, and crust just like the Earth and larger planets are. It has weather and geology. These all make it very different from the majority of shapeless KBOs and asteroids.

We are learning from exoplanet discoveries that planets form in a variety of ways. Even if Pluto formed in a different process from the bigger planets, that does not in and of itself preclude it from being a type of planet–if we recognize that there are many subtypes of planets rather than just two.

I am also very disappointed to hear of someone being banned from Change.org. Walabio, I would recommend trying to start another account there via a different email address. If that doesn’t work, email New Horizons Principal Investigator Dr. Alan Stern, explain your situation, and ask if he can add your name to the list of supporters.

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:42:00 +0000

@Dragonchild: Voyager 2 had to expose its camera for TENS of MINUTES to observe Neptune.

Wow. I didn’t know that.

By: James Sweet

James Sweet — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:49:29 +0000

Note: the word “Forever” means the stamp is always good for first class postage, and is crossed out here to prevent forgery.

And here I thought it was a commentary on Pluto’s planetary status ;p

By: Dragonchild

Dragonchild — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:31:53 +0000

@33. Joseph G
Sol is the brightest star in Pluto’s “daytime” sky by far, but bear in mind brightness falls off like any other inverse square law. Voyager 2 had to expose its camera for TENS of MINUTES to observe Neptune.

I don’t know just how bright the Sun is from Pluto, but I think like the Moon here, it’d be bright, but not enough for me to see color, and would be dim enough to look at without eye damage. I’m speculating because I can’t do the math while I’m at work.

By: Friday links

Friday links — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:11:51 +0000

[...] Sign this petition for a new New Horizons probe forever stamp (via Bad Astronomy)! [...]

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:26:28 +0000

@36 CR: I see, so the “strikethrough” isn’t on the actual stamp, just posters of it?

By: CR

CR — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:16:40 +0000

Re: the crossing out of ‘Forever’ as an anti-forgery thing. It’s basically so that someone can’t cut out the picture and glue it to an envelope to mail a letter. Think of it as pre-cancelling a real stamp. Even the USPS does the exact same thing (over the word ‘forever’ or over the numerical price, whichever the individual stamp picture might contain) on all of its posters and catalogs showing pictures of upcoming and available stamps. The Pluto/New Horizons example shown here is within normal operating specs of the USPS.

By: tracer

tracer — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:29:09 +0000

@ SkyGazer:

Waaaaaaaaaaait a minute … that’s not a picture of Pluto, it’s a picture of Goofy!